Feud System: An idea for both implementing loot tension and preventing "seal-clubbing" in Cutthroat

A brief introduction

I want to emphasize that the system below would not change the "group rules" for loot allocation. PA, SA, and FFA would continue to exist as loot allocation options which set the social contract for how the group expects loot to be fairly distributed among party members. What the feud system does is not destroy the these allocation options, but instead provide a means of breaking the social contract, and also a means for punishing those who break it. The rules remain the same, but the potential to misbehave is introduced.

I feel such a system is appropriate for Wraeclast. Yes, you can have agreements on what is fair. But not everyone is as trustworthy as you might hope them to be... and when they violate your trust, it might be time to start a fight.

For All Leagues: The Core of the System

Purpose: Reintroduce loot tension to the game

Step 1: Provocation

Provoking is a special action, similar to challenging another player to a duel. However, unlike challenging a player to a duel, provoking a player simultaneously provokes everyone within that player's party, with the exception of yourself.

There are two ways to initiate a provocation:

1. Right click on their name and choose "Provoke." This option replaces "Challenge to a Duel" when you are not in town (it's still "Challenge to a Duel" while you are in town). Neither option appears when you and the other player are in separate instances.

2. Pick up an item allocated to another player. This breaks the conventional understand of what "allocated" means, but carries consequences to be described below. Note that this is impossible in FFA, as items are never allocated; it is only possible in PA (where the allocation persists indefinitely) or in SA (where the allocation lasts a short while).

Picking up items allocated to other players is not something all players will want to do. For this reason, the default requirement to pick up items allocated to others will be holding Alt while simultaneously left-clicking. In the Options menu, the UI will allow players to optionally set this to "left click" (no holding Alt required) or to "never."

An immediate consequence of provoking another player is that a 5 second cooldown immediately begins, during which the player may not enter portals or be logged off. They can still flee to other instances through more conventional means (such as going from The Coast to Mud Flats).

Step 2: Starting a Feud

When a player is provoked, that player receives a dialogue box, similar to the one to accepting a new player into a party. The option is to either feud against the provoking player, or reject it (do nothing). Failure to respond to the dialog box will eventually default to doing nothing.

When a player chooses to feud against another, both players incur a debuff which prevents portals for being usable until 5 seconds after being created, and a 5 second logout delay. Obviously, they are able to damage and kill each other. This debuffs applies as long as both players are in the same instance, deactivates when they aren't, and reactivates when they are.

A player can have up to 255 Feuds at a time. Note that although a single provoke can cause multiple provocations, each Feud is between exactly 2 players, which means a single provoke can cause multiple Feuds.

Step 3: Tracking Feuds

Only two things can end a Feud: death, or having too many of them (in which case the oldest are dropped). A new Social tab tracks your Feuds in the event you or the other player manage to escape with their lives. This tab provides you with information regarding who provoked the feud and the character's current location (instance).

As long as you are feuding you have the ability to invade instances that player is in.

Step 4: Ending a Feud

When one of the players in a feud dies, it ends. If the provoking player is killed, that player drops all the items in their inventory which are not worn — in other words, what they're carrying but not their actual equipment. If the provoked player is killed, nothing is dropped. In either case, death carries its usual XP penalty (and league transfer penalty, if Hardcore), and the victory is awarded a portion of it as XP gain.

Effects of Rule Changes

The overall effect of this design is to give players a means for breaking normal allocation rules, but to do so means potentially challenging the entire group in PvP. This is obviously possible for the provoker to pull off (bandit PK is well known), but also risky, especially since the provoked are not forced into it. It changes "ninja" behavior from something without a consequence, to something with potentially dire consequences.

For Cutthroat League: A Reimagining of the Concept

Purpose: Reduce "seal-clubbing" in Cutthroat

One of the larger problems facing longer duration Cutthroat leagues is the ability for high-level players to troll lower-level ones by revisiting areas far below appropriate for their level and killing the random weak characters they come across. This becomes more evident in Cutthroat leagues as the duration increases and the level gap between the seal and the seal-clubber increases.

Note that the Feud system would apply to all leagues, so it would also apply here.

Rule Changes

• Players are no longer immediately hostile with each other. This is a fundamental change.
• Loot is allocated to solo players as if in a PA party.

[li]Players drop all of their worn gear on death. This stacks with the Feud system such that the provoker drops everything on death, while the provoked drops items worn, but not items carried.[/li]
[li]Players still can invade any instances, and all instances can have up to 12 characters. This means you could loot items allocated to players who are in a different party than yours, against their will.[/li]
[li]If a player in your party provokes a player who is not in your party, and a Feud results, you immediately enter into a Feud with the provoked player. (You do not get a choice.)[/li][/list]
Effects of Rule Changes

What this would mean is that you could no longer just go into another player's instance and murder them on sight; instead, you could go into another player's instance and ninja-loot their drops. This could, of course, still be rather frustrating, especially if good stuff drops; as a result, a healthy amount of PvP would still ensue. It's also worth noting that, in general, looting another player's drops is far more effective in an arealevel where the drops are relevant, encouraging players to pick on targets their own size.

I was expecting a nonzero number of comments.

Sounds a little too complicated and would cause more problems than not.

"

Wraeclastian wrote:

Sounds a little too complicated and would cause more problems than not.

I was covering every detail, Official Rules style, in the OP. Here's a better summary:

Make it so any allocation (even PA) can be overridden. However, when they are, everyone in the party can turn on the ninja in open-world PvP, similar to how Cutthroat is now. If the ninja loses, drops all inventory but gear; if the ninja wins, nobody drops any gear.